Bonnie Ruth’s Cafe & Catering

the thing about being creatures of habit is, when you get tired of what you usually do, it’s kind of hard to figure out an alternative.
we go to a few places for brunch on a regular basis, but this weekend we didn’t want what we normally have… so after muuuuuch discussion, we decided to give bonnie ruth’s a try.
the smooth jazz on the radio and the faux-​european mass-​produced art didn’t give me much hope. but the server seemed friendly and the menu looked somewhat promising.
there was a mysterious «casserole» for the special, so of course my lovely bf ordered that (he always orders the thing with the weirdest name or that seems the strangest… it serves him well, in general); i ordered the eggs benedict, partly because it comes with a side of fruit.
well.
the fruit was perfectly ripe; no too-​tart berries or underripe melon in the mix. the EB was tasty – the english muffins were fluffy, the eggs were cooked well – but the hollandaise sauce, um, wasn’t hollandaise sauce. i don’t know if they make it from a mix or just don’t know what it’s supposed to be like, but this was more like cheese sauce. i ate it, don’t get me wrong, but i won’t order the EB here again (the bf really liked his «casserole», which was just a dish of cheese, bacon, and croutons topped with two fried eggs. looked good to me).
the pizzas looked really good, though, and the salads looked interesting, so maybe we’ll go back and try one of those! (or the caramel french toast… good lord that was tempting)

I discovered Bonnie Ruths some time ago thanks to their donation to my high school’s auction, and I’ve kept going back. The place is charmingly small and surprisingly nice on the inside, considering its strip mall location. It’s quiet and unassuming. I’ve tried a number of the salads and sandwiches and have yet to be disappointed. I had the chicken salad sandwich and the Caesar salad on my last go. The chicken salad was probably not my favorite of their sandwiches, but I was quite impressed with the Caesar, which had a wonderful creamy dressing. They have entrées and pizzas, but I’ve never felt the need to go there. However, I will say that the desserts are quite good. I have not yet been for brunch, but I recently learned that their cinnamon rolls are award winning. I will be remedying this shortly. In sum, Bonnie Ruth’s is a hidden gem of not only White Rock but also Dallas.

I frequent this place for lunch when I can’t stand the thought of hospital cafeteria food. The bread is fantastic – homemade, tons of flavors, soft – yum. I usually stick to sandwhiches with chicken and it is always moist. Side salads have a nice basil vinagerette. Portions are huge. The place is very small and a bit confusing – do you order at the counter or do they come to take your order? It varies… yes, confusing.
Brunch menu looks as if it offers typical fare. Desserts are huge, decadent and homemade.

To kick-​start one of my new year’s resolutions on a healthy note I opted for a soup-​n-​salad type meal for lunch. A friend suggested Bonnie Ruth’s because of it’s great food and convenient location to his place. The seating area is small and the room was pretty warm. When we got there all the tables were taken except for a small table for two in the middle. (with little room between my neighbors)
We shared an order of pear/​goat cheese salad and a chicken/​portobello mushroom pizza. I loved both! The salad was a generous portion of mixed greens, chunks of goat cheese, pears and toasted pecans with a vinagrette. The pears were poached in wine which gave it a nice flavor. There was enough dressing to cover the salad and it did not overpower the delicate greens. Also, the goat cheese was light and fresh– not too salty. The pizza was also very good, not greasy and loaded with goodies! We washed it all down with refreshing ice-​teas.
I’ll definitely return when I’m back in town.

tasty meals perfect for a lunch with your mom. Think salads, pizzas, sandwiches and crazy good cakes. Think wine specials on thursdays. This is a local Dallas fav of mine. Only ten tables I think, and very chill. I can’t wait to take my Mom here. Did I mention, very housewife or single women in their 40’s?

So after today I have decided to NEVER, (and I do mean never) trust any type of review that is put in a mainstream publication. It is now the Unilocal way, or no way you will catch me eating there unless I find it on my own accord.
Now, I thought where I work was confusing because we don’t have menus anywhere, you have to deal with the whole chip card system, and as humourous as it is to watch the «lost» look on people’s faces… I know see where they are coming from.
The place was small, quite cramped, and full of housewives, a few loud children, and the rich snobs who inhabit these parts. All of which I could deal with, it is of course a small café.
Before I even got my food (which is now starting to turn my stomach into knots) I watched a salad come out with a worse presentation than Janet Jackson’s boob a few years back during the Super Bowl. I watched some lady eat their tomato basil soup with looked like it had more of a stew like consistancy. Now, it’s my turn for food.
I can deal with greasy food… kind of, but oily? No thank you. Warm Foccacia bread, roasted veggies, parmesean, pesto, and I wanted to think a balsamic vinagrette that the veggies were roasted in. I eat half of my sandwhich, only to get to the other half to find that the bread has turned soggy, and making quite the mess as I picked it up.
Then the little side salad… oh side salads. Who can go wrong? A tomato basil vinagrette dropped ever so delicately on the middle of mesculin mix.
All in all, it was definately different. However, I don’t think I will be going back. Ok, well maybe on a Friday night for $ 3 martinis… I mean, who can go wrong?

This is a cute breakfast joint in the Casa Linda shopping center. Since the Dallas Running Club clubhouse is a few doors down, this is a pretty convenient post-​run stop for us to get our grub on. Last time I was there I had the omelet with goat cheese and spinach, which was good if not a bit too heavy on the goat cheese. Their mimosas are also quite good, and who doesn’t deserve a nice mimosa after a hot summer run?
The only flaw in the size of the room is that it isn’t exactly a place you can sit for an hour or two while you enjoy your coffee after your meal has ended. Otherwise, I’m a big fan.
I’ve also had their food to go and it holds up well. Highly recommended if you’re there for dinner is the Pear and Goat Cheese Salad topped with grilled chicken. Yummm.

Very nice place although it is a cramped for space. The wait staff is always great and very courteous. Only dislike is the odd hours they are open. But this makes eating there a unique experience.
I highly recommend the pizzas and the pear salad. You had better be hungry as the portions are generous.
They have good martini specials on random nights.

Great little place for brunch. As everyone has noted, it is TINY, which I think adds to its charm. I think a family owns and runs it, which explains why service is spotty. There are only a handful of tables in the room, and we were among the first to be seated yet last to get our food. (what’s up with me this weekend getting shafted!?)
I don’t knock them for this, as this is not a place you go for service and pampering. It’s a hole in the wall family run tea room that has knockout food. The selections are great, and I can’t wait to go back and have lunch and dinner.
The dessert selection is amazing, tons of cakes made from scratch… I got the pineapple cream cake but haven’t eaten it yet since I’m still stuffed from the wonderful caramel french toast I had a couple hours ago! Their breakfast potatoes are THE BEST I have ever had, including my mom’s «Tina Taters» which are a family favorite :)
Also, it says beer and wine only, but they have bloody marys and martinis, so I dont think that’s accurate. however, maybe they just have beer, wine and vodka?
Definitely check this place out if you’re in the neighborhood, and if you’re not… try and make a trip over sometime. Just be sure there are only 2 of you, as this is not the place to come with your entire family… they just don’t have the room!

We live very close and are glad for it. It really is a cute and cozy little place. On the plus side, the food is great (and so is the tea). On the other hand, it is small and in all my times going there, only one person has been friendly to me. I don’t mind, I think it is worth it. They have a good brunch with free mimosas and I think Thursday night is Martini night (though I’ve not been to that yet).
Before you go, look around local Lakewood magazines and you will probably find a coupon for buy one get one free entrees. They usually even have some at the hostess stand at the entrance.

My gf and I went here the other day and we really liked it. I normally like plain pizza, but I had a pizza there with onions and chicken and it was awesome. I would venture to say that it was the best non-​cheese pizza I have ever eaten. My gf liked whatever she had. I forget now what it was. I think it was tenderloin dish. We live not to far and it may become our default dinner location. It is really small, so I can see that carry out would be really popular here. They serve wine now, so I doubt that they allow BYOB anymore.

Cute cute cute. but the folks that work there seem a little confused. Maybe we just hit them on an off night. Don’t get me wrong, the food was pretty good. You know when you cook something amazing at home and your significant other (for me meaning the cat) looks up at you and says «Baby, that was restaurant quality food!» and it’s supposed to be a compliment, not that your food tastes like Denny’s…
Well, that is exactly what Bonnie Ruth’s was like.
My food was good, and it tasted like it came right out of some creative kitchen, but it’s not super freaky stellar as their website leads one to believe. The price is dead on for what you are getting. I had Pear and Goat Cheese Baby Greens. The pears were poached in Zinfandel. It was good. Also had the Marguerita Pizza plus chicken. Also, very well done. The tomato basil soup was not as good as La Madeline’s, but it was pretty thick and hearty. Passion fruit tea was really nice, raspberry tea was a little tart.
Dessert was really good. That’s the strong point here. Took home both the Chocolate Silk Cheesecake AND the Caramel Bread Pudding. Both disappeared within two hours. A new record for me. The dessert menu was amazing.
They almost forgot to charge me for dessert, damn my honesty. And they took away my unfinished iced tea while I was ordering dessert to go. AND they almost threw away half a pizza while I was up requesting a box. But like I said at the beginning, they seemed a little off their game as far as service was concerned. However, they made up for it in niceness… is that a word?
Check out the menu at
. Next time I’m going to have the Breadmakers Spaghetti. Yep, this will require more research for sure!

I was so happy to see these reviews of Bonnie Ruth’s. I kept saying «That sounds so familiar!» Turns out, it’s pretty much right up the street. Score!
The husband and I checked it out for brunch a few weeks ago, and initially we were scared. The place is tiny. My husband is 6’5″ and pretty broad (people give him their licenses if he stands too close to the main door at bars), and is more or less a bull in a china shop, so he was a little uncomfortable when I told him to stand still and not to move (I’m practicing motherhood). We sat down and waited for a server for about 10 minutes when we noticed other people ordering at the counter. Oops. They really should speak up. Or have a sign.
So we order brunch: I got the eggs benedict and he got the caramel french toast. Both were perfect. I love benedicts, but people constantly screw them up. This place did it perfectly. The potatoes were crispy and full of flavor. The husband said his was too sweet, to which I replied «Really? A cup of caramel sauce on sweetened bread is a little too much in the morning? Shocking.» I’m an asshole that way.
Bonnie Ruth’s is a great neighborhood place, and I’m glad to have been encouraged by fellow Unilocalers to try it out. We’ll be back for dinner soon!

We live less than a mile from Bonnie Ruth’s. It took us a while to get over there, since it seemed like the main customer base was the over 65 crowd.
But one day, on a whim we did.
Yes, about 50% of the customers are a bit on the older side, but we live in a neighborhood with many seniors so that is a given anywhere in Casa Linda I guess.
The environment is very small café-​ish. Small space and small tables. A bit hard to eat with a child with the limited amount of table space, but nothing too awful. The food makes up for it. Trust.
We always get the Chicken, Bacon, and Cheddar sandwich. They use a delicious toasted Italian loaf, juicy grilled chicken, LOTS of thick, crispy bacon, red onions, tomatoes, spring lettuce mix, and of course Cheddar. This hot sandwich is served with a garlic aioli that I probably could eat by itself if my conscience would let me.. . Every sandwich comes with a side salad with their house dressing. It is always consistently good and satisfying.
The Mama Dura House Roast Beef Sandwich is also delicious, if you are feeling a bit iron deficient.
I have not ventured past the sandwiches since they are perfection. But will try to experiment next time.
We did get a slice of the Kahlua Chocolate Cake last time. It was AWESOME. Like something your grandma would have made if she liked to nip at the sweet liquor all day and «accidentally» dribbled some into the frosting. And cake. (Had a friend who had a «Mimi» like such)
Everything is made from scratch with high quality, fresh ingredients, and it shows.
I highly recommend Bonnie Ruth’s to you and to myself to go try some of the other items off of their menu.
go to
to check out their menu etc…

I’ve been here once and loved it… if I lived in the area I swear I’d hit the place every other week. Great sandwiches on wonderful bread and delicious pizza. Wonderful deserts too.

One of my favorite little hole in the wall places, Bonnie Ruth’s is amazing. I have only had the dinner experience but it is consistent, inventive and flavorful! It used to be BYOB but im not sure if that still flies. My favorite dish is their Chicken Francaise which is mouthwatering even thinking about it! Their description of the dish is: Escalope of chicken sauted with lemon, butter, wine and marjoram. Served with potato celeriac purée and haricot vert in shallot butter for $ 11.95. I have also seen but not tried the House Roasted Sirloin with Bernaise. It looked exquisite. The atmosphere of this place is homey yet romantic. I think the feel they were going for was a small French café (then again I’ve never been to France so I can only imagine). Their Mixed Baby Field Greens Salad is great due to the always fresh ingredients and house vinaigrette. This place also makes some of the best cakes I have come across! You can custom order them whole or buy them in store by the slice. The only thing I’m not crazy about is the bread which comes with your meal. It isn’t anything special in my opinion and I love my breads and cheeses! I think this place is also closed Mondays… fyi.